Trail Tales Cast Interview with Ty Miller
"The Kid"
Trail
Tales Questions in Gold
Ty's Answers in White
What was the Audition process
like?
Very much like all
auditions. It's a total of four or five meetings before the network
chooses who
they like. Usually the network asks for three different choices
at
the final 'callback'. That meeting is called a network 'test'.
How did you hear about
the audition?
The normal
process...agents and managers usually handle getting the auditions,
from a listing
called the 'breakdowns'.
Who did you read with from
the actual cast?
I read with Josh and
with Yvonne.
Besides the role of Kid,
where there other characters you read
for?
Are there any actors you
remember reading with/ or from the casting call that did not make the
final cast?
Well, I remember alot
the
people from the different auditions, many who were
part of a regular 'circuit' of actors going out on auditions at the
time, especially in the same
'type' roles.
What was COWBOY CAMP like?
Much fun. We could
have used
a couple more weeks of it before the first-season
intro credits, though!
What kind of special training
did you receive before starting the series? ie: riding, period weapons?
Mostly the 'cowboy
camp'. We all continued to ride as much as we could on set
and practice with the guns. We had a quick-draw champ around on set
quite
a bit, so he taught us a lot, too.
What was the major difference
in filming at a place like Old Tucson Studios, where the public is
watching you, and filming at Mescal, where the public is not watching?
I preferred Mescal,
but not
so much because of the people watching us...on the other hand, we were
only at Old Tucson studios for one day out of the week (usually), so it
was
nice to work closer to town.
When fans visited the set, do
you feel it enhanced the atmosphere, or did their presence hinder the
concentration on set?
I would say it did
neither...it was nice to have visitors, though!
What was the most fun you
had during filming?
From the first day of
the
pilot to the last day of the final episode. It really was a great time
overall.
What was the scariest moment
during filming?
Mescal or OTS: which set felt
more like home?
On set, where would you
go to GET AWAY for some peace?
In Mescal it was
easy...so much space, you could just take a hike if you knew you
weren't in the next scene. The dressing room was always good too,
though. At Old Tucson, it was usually just the dressing room.
What was the mood like
during the filming of In
the Presence of Mine
Enemies ?
Well, Travis is a good
guy
and was a friend to everybody, so nobody wanted to see him go. It was a
fairly
downcast mood if I remember correctly.
What was the mood like during
the filming of the final episodes?
Mixed emotions...on
one hand,
we all wanted to go on hiatus after a long year
of filming...on the other hand, well, it was the last episodes, so
their
was some sadness too.
How early in the morning did
you have to wake up for filming?
It varied. Some calls
were
as early as 5am, some were in the afternoon, some at
night. It depended on which scenes were being shot that day and which
characters were in them.
How many rehearsals were
typical before you filmed a scene?
When everything was
working well, it was usually just a couple rehearsals and
then shoot. If it was a particularly complicated shot with lots of
camera movement, etc., then it
could be
a few more rehearsals.
How did night scenes compare
to the scenes filmed during the day?
I liked them both. It
was
always nice to have nights after a long string of day
shoots and vice-versa.
What did you enjoy the
most?
All the people. I have
great,
lasting memories of almost everyone, cast and crew. Also, the
desert...I
love the desert.
Arizona has an extreme
weather system, chilly cold to triple digit heat. How did the
variations in the weather affect you and the rest of the cast?
For me, the variation
was
good. My favorite time was in the rainy
season... thunder/lightning... smell of the desert...can't beat it.
What were your hobbies
/ down time fun on set? Off set?
Let's see...played a
lot of pool, played some music, read some books, hiked,
biked...all the usual fun things.
Just a BIG OL' Hey Howdy
to Ty for taking the time answer these questions!
April 4th, 2002
On Vacation in California
I had the amazing opportunity to meet with Ty
Miller.
We had a great
conversation and time seemed to fly by so fast that
I hadn't realized that
what I thought would be a quick hello and a handshake
turned into about and
hour and half of funny stories and lots of laughs!